Checking your own credit score will not impact it in anyway positively or negatively. There is a difference between doing a soft credit check, which is what utility companies, landlords, or cell phone companies may do to see if you qualify for perks such as not having to pay a downpayment, and other types of credit checks that lenders usually do, which are called hard credit inquiries. Hard credit inquiries will typically reduce your score by a slight amount, but only temporarily until you start paying your loan.

Promotions. We may operate sweepstakes, contests and similar promotions (collectively, "Promotions") through the Site. We typically ask you for certain personal information when you enter and, if applicable, win a Promotion. You should carefully review the rules, if any, of each Promotion in which you participate through the Site, as they may contain additional important information about our use of personal information. To the extent that the terms and conditions of such rules concerning the treatment of personal information conflict with this Policy, the terms and conditions of such rules will control.

The VantageScore 3.0 model was recently introduced in 2013 and is one of the most up to date and current scoring models. Like your FICO Score, the VantageScore is also determined with the information found on your credit file and can be impacted by several factors including your on-time payment history, credit history, debt-to-income ratios, and your overall credit balances.

When a consumer applies for credit - whether for a credit card, an auto loan, or a mortgage - lenders want to know what risk they'd take by loaning money. When lenders order a credit report, they can also buy a credit score that's based on the information in the report. A credit score helps lenders evaluate a credit report because it is a number that summarizes credit risk, based on a snapshot of a credit report at a particular point in time.

If I shop around for a balance transfer credit card, my score will get crushed: FALSE! If your score does decline, it probably will not decline by much. You can expect 10-20 points per credit application. But, remember: you apply for a balance transfer to help reduce your balance faster. When you open a new credit card and transfer your balance, then you will be able to:

Changing information. Corrections or updates to your information including your email address, phone number, mailing address, credit card information or password reminder phrase can be made through the edit profile section of your account on the Site. If necessary, other corrections or updates to your information can be made by contacting us. For your protection, our customer care representatives may request supporting documents before making any changes or updates to your membership information.

is 20%, which is good. However, closing one of the cards would put your credit utilization rate at 40%, which will negatively affect your score. Your credit score is one number that can cost or save you a lot of money in your lifetime. An excellent score can land you low interest rates, meaning you will pay less for any line of credit you take out. But it's up to you, the borrower, to make sure your credit remains strong so you can have access to more opportunities to borrow if you need to.

Make sure that you are paying all of your debt on time if possible. Doing so will not only improve your credit rating it will ensure that it doesn’t decline. Paying your debts on time will eventually open up more doors to better interest rate credit cards and other more attractive credit offers. You can set up alerts as reminders to pay your bills so it won’t slip your mind.

The Discover it® Secured isn’t like most secured cards — it offers a cashback program and a simple transition to an unsecured card. Starting at eight months from account opening, Discover will conduct automatic monthly account reviews to see if your security deposit can be returned while you still use your card. Unlike most secured cards that lack rewards, this card offers 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter. Plus, 1% cash back on all your other purchases. And, Discover will match ALL the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, automatically. There’s no signing up. And no limit to how much is matched. This is a great added perk while you work on building credit.

A: It’s up to you. Because nationwide credit reporting companies get their information from different sources, the information in your report from one company may not reflect all, or the same, information in your reports from the other two companies. That’s not to say that the information in any of your reports is necessarily inaccurate; it just may be different.